XO Team Founders Gary Grey and Mary Senn Dish on the Team and Their ‘Reason’ Music Video

Content creator house and music group XO Team are taking the world by storm, and now that they've relocated to the United States, they're only going to get even bigger.

The international TikTok house was founded by influencers and producers Gary Grey and Mary Senn in Moscow and has since grown to epic proportions, with the team dabbling in a bit of everything, from their own self-produced reality TV shows to running a music label, and even having a virtual, AI member of the team named ENNY who lives in the metaverse. With nearly 40 million followers on TikTok and 11 million YouTube followers, they're beloved around the world, and their latest music video, "Reason" has also been a viral hit, with more than a million YouTube Shorts using it as a sound, and 19 million views and counting on its official music video. There truly isn't anything XO Team can't do, and we got the chance to chat with Gary and Mary themselves about the team, and what's next.

Sweety High: Can you tell us a little bit about the XO Team? Who are its members, and what's the team all about?

Gary Grey and Mary Senn: We could say that XO TEAM is an international TikTok house, but it is even more than that. We started it two and a half years ago in Moscow, but before that, we already had a YouTube house where we (Mary and Gary) were producers of young influencers and also filmed the famous reality shows XO LIFE and XO TEAM. It's been nine seasons already, and in 2023 we think we will film the English version. XO TEAM is also a music group and recently launched our label, XO MUSIC. We also have plans in animation and the metaverse, as we launched our 3D character ENNY as a member of the team. Two years ago, we also filmed a movie and some of our influencers wanted to start a music career as solo artists. The members are all over the world and we love this diversity. Each member is unique and has more goals and plans beyond TikTok.

 

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SH: How did the XO Team come together as a content creator house? Is there a story behind the house's formation?

Gary and Mary: We were in L.A. in February 2020 and noticed how TikTok was blowing up. Hype House was already huge, and when we came back to Moscow, all of March, we were looking for talent. The audition was crazy. We met lots of content creators in our office, and we even FaceTimed a lot of people. We rented a house for all of us: influencers, managers, production, etc. We had a wonderful time at that house, and will always cherish the happy memories we made.

 

SH: Can you tell us a little bit about your latest music video, "Reason"? What does the song mean to you, and what do you hope it means to your fans?

Gary and Mary: We were thinking about making music, and then one of our sound producers sent us a demo of the chorus and we just fell in love. We recorded it quickly and started to push it out as an official sound on TikTok. By this time, we already met our partner from the music side, Sandun Wijemanne Nissanka, and released the song through Bonfire Distribution. The sound became viral on TikTok, but mostly on YouTube Shorts—we have more than 1 million videos for our official sound and we are so grateful. Fans all over the world use our song, and this feeling is amazing. We watch people of all ages dancing and making content. We love it so much. And the funny story is that we didn't even plan a music video because we had no idea that the song would become viral. Eventually, we decided to film a music video and spent two full days editing. It wasn't a very high-budget, professional video, but it was our vibe, and we had so much fun making it. It has more than 19 million views already.

 

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SH: "Reason" has had a lot of success in a short time! Why do you think it has resonated so strongly with viewers? What part of the XO Team ethos do you feel is reflected in the song and the video?

Gary and Mary: We feel that the dance trend helped us a lot. And the vibe of the song is very international—it's a cheerful song that just makes you want to move when you listen to it, and gives you happy vibes. All that we wanted to show in a video is just that we are young and free. We wanted to show the younger generation all over the world that you can find your people, team, friends and family. We love the fact that we are all friends. We wanted to show that nothing is impossible and that people all over the world, even from small towns and different countries, can achieve big results.

 

SH: Do you have any favorite XO Team memories so far? If so, what are they?

Gary and Mary: One time was when we all went to a gaming lab together. We went there with the whole team and management and played in two teams. Our idea was to wake up early, make content, and in the evening chill and play together.

 

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SH: What's next for the team? Is there anything we can look forward to in the near future?

Gary and Mary: Soon, we're going to release another song that listeners of "Reason" will love. We're actually filming a music video at the end of January in Sri Lanka, which we think will be a crazy, fun experience. We are also working on our reality show but don't have dates yet, and have our mobile game, XO LAND, releasing soon. Overall, we want to make XO a big part of the entertainment industry. Who knows, maybe we will produce a cartoon or build our own Disneyland…

 

SH: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Gary and Mary: We are really happy that we moved to L.A. We hope you will see some amazing projects from us in the near future, and thank you for having us here. We really appreciate it.

 

For even more from our favorite TikTok creators, click HERE to read how Yonutz' Angelo Bahu made his family donut business a viral destination.